the american economy is on the line. and this is a moment for adult leadership. >> to talk all things politics, we bring in nick from the "new york times." politico is reporting today boehner and the president had a curt phone call. that's curt with a "c." should we be reading something into that? >> you almost can't tell what's happening by looking at the president and jay carney and speaker boehner are saying. you have to look further out and see where the ripples are. really when boehner's talking and when the president is talking, they are talking to their members in congress. so it's members you have to look at. obviously, there are teams of economists and policy experts behind the scenes that are crafting all kinds of compromises. it really comes down to the members, i think. >> let's talk about one of those members, representative tom cole, republican from oklahoma came out and said he thinks republicans should go ahead and pass what the president has proposed, basically extend the tax cuts for the middle class up